South Korea

The Korean National Baseball Team defeated Japan to win bronze at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in just their second Olympic appearance. Second place finishes in the 2002 Intercontinental Cup and 2005 IBAF Baseball World Cup soon followed, and the team went on to win the bronze medal in the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic. In 2008, Korea defeated Cuba to win the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics. In the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Team Korea led the tournament in RBI, runs scored, and shutouts pitched and advanced to the Championship Game of the tournament against defending Champion, Team Japan. The Championship Game went 10 innings before Japan scored two runs to win the game 5-3. There are currently 17 players from Korea signed to professional contracts including Shin-Soo Choo of the Cleveland Indians.